The National Association of Emergency Medical Services Educators recently awarded Creighton professor Bill Raynovich with a lifetime achievement award. He is one of only six recipients to receive the award from NAEMSE in the association’s 17 year history.
“The award is the greatest honor of my career,” Raynovich said.
Raynovich, who has taught at Creighton since 2004, believes his introduction into the world of EMS was a combination of accident and destiny. In 1967 he joined the US Navy and trained to be a Hospital Corpsman, which he didn’t believe was the right occupation for him due to his apprehension of anything pertaining to blood or medical procedures. That apprehension, which caused him to pass out even in a classroom discussion, went away when his instructor, a Navy nurse, made it clear to him the Navy wasn’t concerned with what he didn’t enjoy.
“I never had a problem after that,” Raynovich said.
After finishing Hospital Corps training as well as Marine Corp field medic training, he served as a Company Corpsman before being honorable discharged from the Navy. He then returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa. and enrolled in the University of Pittsburgh, where he majored in Biochemistry. By 1968, he was an ambulance attendee for Freedom House Enterprise, an organization that advocates for human rights worldwide.
That same year FHE received a grant to provide ambulance services to the most impoverished area of Pittsburgh. The program not only provided emergency services, it taught the residents of that area emergency medical care. The program proved to be successful and led the way for continued paramedic training for almost a decade.
Raynovich, who was once unsure of a career involving “blood and guts,” was now secure in his decision to continue on in the field of EMS.
“When I graduated with my degree in biochemistry, the allure of a career in the laboratory simply lacked the allure of an exciting life filled with rushing to help people whose lives were hanging in the balance of a few precious moments and my helping hands,” Raynovich said.
Raynovich’s career has spanned over four decades. He has held numerous titles such as director of Paramedic Training at Reading Hospital (Reading, Pa.) and senior program manager for the University of New Mexico’s EMS Academy. He completed a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership at UNM before joining the Creighton community as director of EMS Education.
The Creighton EMS program has been approved to offer a master’s degree in EMS, for which instruction will begin spring semester 2013. Much of Raynovich’s time is spent in his classroom or office but he is still dedicated to advancing EMS education.
“I’d like to think that my experiences help me to be a better teacher,” Raynovich said. “I am gratified every time I receive a note of thanks or an appreciative telephone call from a former student telling me that I made a difference in their lives. Those are the moments that touch the hearts of educators and gives us breath to move on in our careers.”